Experiences

Got on a Zoom yesterday evening of people from my college class. It's been going on since the pandemic started every Thursday night and has been spearheaded by the woman who has been our class secretary forever and who has taken the lead on organizing reunions. Great staying power, great work, great person.

Last night a woman was on there talking about things she had bought her fiance for his birthday. I initially expressed envy in the tone of "he's a lucky guy," then I kinda backtracked by saying we had plenty of things, which is true. Someone else piped in that "experiences" are more important.

Lots of people, nay society in general has been trending towards "experiences" over "things" for some time, and at a high level it seems healthy. But I am actually retreating from that. All too often "experiences" denotes first and foremost travel, which is of necessity rather carbon-intensive on average. When it's not about travel, it may be about food or perhaps even seeing somebody in concert. Even those two are often about display: sharing about them on Facebook to say "I did this or that, look how cool I am."

I am moving away from "experiences" and towards joy and serenity as goals. Each of them are elusive and evanescent, but you know them when you have them. By and large, others also know when you have them, but they can't come to know it by you telling them. Intrinsic qualities are not designed for display, they can only be divined.